Taj's alarm woke him after a few short hours of restless sleep. Staring at the dull, grey, bloodshot eyes reflected in his bathroom mirror, he cursed himself for drinking so much whiskey. He splashed cold water over his face before going to the kitchen to make the strongest coffee he possibly could. His first shift as Executioner began in two hours.
He'd received the assignment after the previous Executioner was officially declared insane and was relieved from duty. While Taj was grateful to finally have a job, he wished he'd been appointed to a position that involved less torturing.
Ironically, an 'Executioner' didn't kill anyone. He presided over the ritual of sending convicted criminals through the Ring of Doors and into the correct subdivision of Hell.
----from Trapped Inside the Maelstrom: Tales of Horror and Madness